Blithe Spirit
by
Noel Coward
November
2004
SYNOPSIS
Blithe Spirit is set at the house of writer, Charles Condomine, and his wife, Ruth. One evening, Charles invites local eccentric medium, Madame Arcati, to hold a seance at his house. He asks along his friends, Dr. and Mrs. Bradman, intending to gather character inspiration from Madame Arcati for his latest book. Despite initially thinking the seance has been a failure, it soon becomes clear that Madame Arcati has unwittingly brought back Charles’ first wife, Elvira, to haunt him. Once in his house, Elvira is unable to leave and, as she cannot be seen or heard by Ruth, she causes all kinds of mischievous trouble between the married couple. When Elvira unwittingly causes Ruth’s death in her attempts to bring Charles over to be with her, Charles becomes haunted by both of his now-deceased wives. Frustrated by their odd situation, the threesome call on Madame Arcati once more to send Elvira and Ruth back to the other side. Intensely funny and character-driven, Blithe Spirit combines farce, emotion, and wit to great effect.
DIRECTOR
Ray Baer
CAST
Charles Candomine
Paul Day
Ruth Candomine
Sylvia Lyinch
Madame Arcarti
Valery Niggli
Elvira
Emma-Kate Potter
Mrs Bradman
Sheila von Arx
Edith
Karen Siber
Dr. Bradman
Paul Bilton
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
BEHIND THE SCENES
Stage Manager
Claudia Wicki
Co-Stage Manager
Martin Meier
Set Design
Christian Brandenburg
Sound
Terry Menard
Sound Crew
Mark Kempe, Alexander Saheb
Lighting
Sanjeev Premchandb, Megan Spence
Lighting Crew
Stephen Martin, Enel Miller, Karin Pletcher, Dustin Rees
Props
Janet Evard
Props Crew
Susi Bott, Michelle Holmes, Lynda Klomann, Sally Krauer, Hagar Schipper
Costumes
Noeleen Blaich Ann Grosfort
Make Up
Maureen Grimm, Sylvia Hintermeister
Prompters
Annabel Garneau, Dorothy Nauer
Front of House
Joan Bridgman, Corinne Curtis, Members of the Club
Box Office
Nicholas McCabe, Members of the Club
Publicity
Paul Bilton
Title Artwork
Janine Fuchs
Photography
Leslie von Arx
Programme Editor
David Roscoe
Programme Design
Peter Schietinger